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Your curatorial statement is a great opportunity to help guide the way the public perceives your
exhibition. Its a chance to communicate directly with viewers, help them understand your point of view,
and get them excited and curious about the work theyre about to experience.
When writing the curatorial statement, its good to keep some general guidelines in mind. The
statement should be about 200-300 words and 2-3 paragraphs. It can be helpful to follow a basic
structurefor example, using the first paragraph to establish the overall premise of the exhibit, the
second to illustrate the range of artists approaches with examples, and the third to suggest the wider
significance of your theme. If theres a particular work that was especially instrumental in the way you
thought about the exhibition, it might be interesting to describe that work in depth to draw the viewer
into your thought process. Some Gelman curators also write a supplementary handout that describes
each work in the show in some detail. (See the Unnatural Science example on the back of this sheet.)
You should also think about the style of the statement. There are two audiences for your
exhibition: the RISD community and the wider public. You want to be specific enough when articulating
your agenda to engage the RISD community, but avoid using the kind of art-world jargon that might
alienate a general audience. For instance, if there is a specific term thats essential to the theme of the
exhibition, make sure to define it in your curatorial statement. There is a great example of this in the
Synthetics statement from the Whitney Museum below. Synthetic is clearly definedas it pertains
both to the physical properties of paint and to artificiality as a cultural ideal. As is the case in this
example, a thoughtful consideration of your audience can often help you articulate your ideas more
clearly.
In general, you want an informative and persuasive tone, somewhere in between an academic
paper and a newspaper article. That means no use of the word I or first-person observations. The
samples below should help you get a feel for the appropriate tone. Of course, the best way to find out
how to express your thoughts is to get started writing your statement. We look forward to reviewing it
with you.Elizabeth Rossiter, Writing Center tutor, 2010
A few samples:
Synthetic, The Whitney Museum, 2009
In the 1960s, artists began to use a range of new products that changed the possibilities of painting and
sculpture. Synthetic polymer paintspopularly known as acrylicsbecame the first widely used
alternative to oil, a material that had dominated painting since the Renaissance. Unlike oil, these waterbased colors dried quickly and to a uniform surface. Artists such as Morris Louis explored their physical
properties, especially their ability to stain and be poured directly on raw canvas. Medium and support
could merge and become equal. These new approaches advanced one of the fundamental ideas of
modern painting: acknowledging flatness as part of a paintings status as object and picture. Other
artiststhose not working abstractlyexplored how synthetic and commercial materials could impact
an images meaning.
The new emphasis on surface took on metaphorical as well as material importance. Andy Warhol
inextricably merged process with subject matter in his screen-printed paintings. Richard Artschwager
used commercially made materials to create a slick, plastic look that was integral to that which was
represented. This exhibition explores how new synthetic products not only allowed for a new look but
also aligned with subject matter to change the direction of postwar American art.
(over)